When We Were Mates (Demetra and Emris) novel Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

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Demetra.

Chase me back.

Emris promises this and my wolf melts beneath my skin, tail wagging like a lovesick puppy. I shut her down immediately. Traitor.

I replay what he said. He slept with Elena only once? Since four years? How is that even possible? He’s obviously lying…men like Emris don’t go four years without warm bodies in their beds. But lying about it to chase me? Wait. Chase me. Emris wants to chase me.

Emris wants me back!?

My heart does this stupid little flip that I violently ignore.

Then the rest of his confession sinks into my brain. He bonded with Elena because she fell pregnant. That drunken night he mentioned, he was mourning the loss of me and thought I came back to him. For half a second, something cracks in my chest. Softens. Almost lets him in.

But no.

I remember exactly how it was. I remember standing there naked, tears streaming down my face, pouring my soul out through a bond he should have felt, and he just stood there. Calling me names his mother planted in his mouth. If it was just me he sent away that day maybe forgiveness would come easy.

But it wasn’t, our pup was in my belly too and he couldn’t sense it in his anger.

So now he wants me back…now when I am no longer an orphaned omega or a charity case…now that I am an Alpha’s daughter who others are willing to chase… Emris now wants to accept this version of me?

Even if the Moon Goddess herself appeared before me and demanded I take him back, I’d spit in her face.

Emris gets up to leave my office. He thinks my silence means I’m considering it. Please. I rise from my seat and he stops, probably expecting me to take the weight of the word “chase” seriously.

“You think because I rode you last night, that means you automatically get a ticket to chase me?”

Emris looks proud. So proud. I know that look on his face…it’s the one where he thinks he’s already won, that I’m already his again, that this is just a formality. Arrogant bastard. So now I have to do the only thing that will wipe this smug off his face.

And that’s to lie. To lie and make up things that have never happened. Just like I lied about having a lover.

“Where did you think I learned to ride like that?” I ask with a look on my face that’s belittling. Emris begins to question what I’m trying to say…I can tell from the way his face shifts.

“Gammas.” I turn my back away from him and flaunt my hair in his face as I walk to my table. “Betas. Zetas. Alphas. I’ve had muscles under me, Emris.

I list them off like a shopping catalog but each word is a small danger. “So many muscles. That’s how I was able to ride you till tears.” I glance back with a sweet smile. “In the past, that thing between your legs made me obsessed. Now?” I shrug. “I can get that anywhere. It was good, though, Solid B–plus.”

The veins on his forehead appear one by one, like someone’s drawing them with red ink. His hands clench so hard I hear his knuckles crack. His breathing turns into these heavy huffs, like a bull about to charge. Lips shaking. Parting. Closing. Good. Let him choke on it.

Yeah, I didn’t spend four years away just to be his doormat again I know he’s proud but I also know his ego could scrape the

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15:53 Mon, May 11 →

Chapter 38

sky. The same ego that made him call me a whore because of a misunderstanding.

That ego isn’t dead. I’m gonna step on it today.

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“Oh no…” I widen my eyes in surprise. “You thought you were the first dick I’ve had in four years? Don’t be stupid, baby.” I settle into my CEO chair, spinning toward my computer. “Our meeting’s done. You can leave now.”

Emris stands there for a long moment. Then he leaves. I don’t watch him

1. go.

The moment the door shuts, I collapse forward and dig my fingers into my scalp. Lies. That’s all I feed him. Lies about lovers. Lies about Amira’s father. Lies about other men in my bed. Because the truth is pathetic.

The truth is I haven’t touched another man in four years. The truth is my body still remembers every inch of his like a map I can’t burn. The truth is when he touched me last night, I didn’t just respond… I came alive for the first time since I left.

But he doesn’t get to know that.

An hour passes before I can function again. My schedule’s ruined, concentration is shot. Doesn’t even matter. I have to get some things for Amira’s birthday. She’s been begging for specific gifts for weeks, and Aunt Scotty’s handling the party logistics. Dad’s on invites to pack families cause I don’t know enough people in this state yet.

She’s currently in school, so this is the best time to pick the gifts up and hide them before she gets back. As I pull into the pack house driveway, I spot Aunt Scotty and Aunt Rachel walking out with some young lady…around my age, give or take. She has honey–brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail. Her face is pretty in an approachable way–warm brown eyes, clear skin, a smile that seems genuinely friendly. But it’s the earrings that catch my attention. Small diamonds, but the kind of small that costs more than most people’s cars. Subtle flex. Which means she’s either wealthy or important. Probably both.

“Oh my goodness. You’re back early.” Aunt Scotty spots me first.

“Just to drop off Amira’s gifts before school run. Um…” I glance at the woman, waiting.

“Oh, this is Sabrina. She’s the daughter of the Irish Pack alpha…here visiting Slade.”

“Ah.” I nod, placing her now. Irish Pack.

Sabrina steps forward. “I saw you at the Alpha Fest… you literally had everyone’s hearts. They’re still talking about you back home. Demetra, right?”

“Yeah.” I chuckle, accepting her handshake. I like her already. “Um, my daughter’s having a birthday party this weekend. I’m hoping to meet other families, parents, pack leaders we’ll be connecting with. I haven’t been around my family long enough to really know anyone, and I don’t exactly have friends to-”

“Say no more.” Sabrina’s face lights up. “I’ll definitely show. I can be your… journalist. Read everyone for you, tell you the tea.”

“I would genuinely love that.” I laugh, and somehow, we’re both giggling like we’ve known each other forever.

“Sabrina also has a brother….he’s the Irish Pack Alpha.” Aunt Scotty slides that in so smoothly, so casually, like she’s not absolutely matchmaking right in front of me. “Do you think he’d be able to come?”

I shoot her a look but she ignores me magnificently.

“I’ll tell him.” Sabrina’s still smiling, completely oblivious to Aunt Scotty’s schemes. We exchange goodbyes and watch her slide into her car to leave.

The moment she’s gone, I round on Aunt Scotty,

“You just had to bring up a man, didn’t you?”

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Chapter 38

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“The Irish Pack is very prestigious. They’re known for being doctors and healers. They make the best medicine. Really intelligent people.”

Aunt Rachel snorts, covering her laugh.

“Aunt Rachel, stop her.” I whine.

“You know I can’t stop her. She’s already on the move for a bride for Slade.”

I whip my head back toward where Sabrina’s car disappeared. “Wait….Sabrina is the one you’re targeting!?”

“Of course she’s my latest target.” Aunt Scotty looks almost proud. “They went to the same high school and were in the same class. Which means they already have history together. Plus, I’ve seen the way Sabrina’s cheeks go rosy every time I bring up conversations about him. And get this–S&S. Imagine that on a wedding banner.”

I bite my lip, hesitating. Because I remember something Slade told me…about rejected his first mate. Why hasn’t anyone mentioned it? What actually happened?

“Question for both of you…” We go inside and I lower my voice.

“Ask away.”

“Slade’s first mate. Why did he reject her?”

They both freeze. Aunt Rachel first. Aunt Scotty next. They exchange a look that speaks entire conversations.

“She was basically… crazy.”

“Insane is the actual word.” Aunt Scotty adds.

I blink. “Like… serial killer crazy?” Because that’s got to be the only thing that warrants that description, right?

They look at each other again.

“Yeah.” Scotty says. “A serial killer.”

“Okay, I don’t believe either of you right now. Can you say something that doesn’t sound like sarcasm?”

“We’re not being sarcastic-” Scotty starts, then cuts herself off! “Oh, stop talking. Slade’s coming. He doesn’t like when we mention her!”

She grabs at my lips and I squeal, swatting her hand away only to turn to find Slade marching toward me like a gladiator entering the arena. And oh no….the same veins bulging on his forehead that I saw on Emris’s head when I eviscerated his ego.

“Demetra?”

“What-”

“What the fuck is Emris doing coming out of your company?”

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